Hinge



May 6, 1969 F. c. IDETERSON HINGE Filed May 20, 1966 FIGS FIG.IO

[Mam 7'02 M M Word 1% yrmzmtys.

United States Patent US. Cl. 16168 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge comprising a gear plate secured to a door frame and a door mounting member secured to a door, said door mounting member having a pinion with teeth thereon adapted to fit into spaces between lugs on said gear plate so that the door moves away from the vertical portion of the door frame as the door is opened.

This invention relates to an improved hinge, and in particular, to a hidden hinge for doors which are mounted in substantially abutting relation to the door frame or to a cabinet wall or to each other. Such doors are sometimes mounted in flush relation with the door frame.

With doors so mounted, there is a problem in providing clearance between the hinge side of the door and the door frame or cabinet wall when the door is opened. Unless some special provision is made, the hinge side of the door will hit the supporting frame when the door is opened. In the past, this has been avoided either by rounding the hinge side of the door so that it clears the frame or by using hinges which extend outwardly from the door so that the pivoting axis of the hinge is away from the frame or by using hinges which extend slightly forwardly of the door and which require the top and bottom of the door to be cut out. In each case, whether the door is rounded or the hinge is exposed to view, it detracts from the appearance of the door.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a hidden door hinge for door frames or cabinets and the like, which hinge is substantially hidden from view and which requires no portion of the door to be cut away for installation. Another object is to provide a hinge which fits within the normal space between the top of the door and the top of the door frame, said hinge being made from substantially flat cooperating members and having an axis which moves away from the vertical portion of the door frame as the door is opened. Another object is to provide a hidden door hinge which can be made from only two pieces of metal by means of stamping.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The present invention is embodied in a hinge made from a relatively flat metal stamping comprising a gear plate secured to the lower surface of the top of a door frame and a door mounting member secured to the upper rear wall of a door, said door mounting member having a pinion with teeth thereon adapted to fit into spaces between lugs on said gear plate so that the door connected to said door mounting member moves away from the vertical portion of the door frame as the door is opened.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and wherein like numerals and letters refer to like parts wherever they occur:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view showing the hinge mounted at the top of a door,

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the door in closed position,

3,441,977 Patented May 6, 1969 FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the door partially open,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the door in its fully open position,

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the gear plate,

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the gear plate,

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the door mounting member showing the pinion,

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view thereof, and

FIG. 10 is an end view of said door mounting member.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a hinge H having a door mounting member D and a frame mounting member or gear plate F, both of which members may be made from relatively thin metal which can be stamped and bent into proper shape. These members do not have to be cast and do not have to be machined, although they may be if so desired for some types of installations. If desired, other materials such as plastic can be used for some kinds of installations.

The frame mounting member or gear plate F comprises a cover plate 1 with suitable openings 2 therein for receiving fastening means, such as screws 3. The longitudinal edge portions of the cover plate 1 are turned downwardly to form a rear flange 4, which may be continuous, and a front flange 5 having a rack portion 6 comprising a plurality of lugs L with spaces S therebetween. The rear flange 4 and front flange 5 are spaced apart a dissance d. In the embodiment shown, the rack 6 has four lugs, L-l, L-2, L-3, and L-4, with spaces S-1, S-2, 8-3, and S4, therebetween, the last space S-4 being slightly larger than the other spaces. The gear plate F is adapted to be mounted to horizontal frame member 7 by the means 3, preferably within a recessed or cut-out portion thereof so that the lower edges of the lugs L will be flush with the bottom of the frame member 7.

The door mounting member D comprises a securing flange 8 having sutiable openings 9 therein for receiving fastening means, such as screws 10, for securing the flange 8 to the vertical rear surface 11 of a door 12. The top portion of the flange 8 at the end 13 nearest to the vertical door frame member 14, is provided with a pinion 15 which is flat and which extends over the top surface 16 of the door 12 within the edges thereof. The pinion 15 is substantially a quadrant of a circle with a plurality of teeth T thereon, which teeth T are adapted to fit within the spaces S between the lugs L in the front flange 5 of the frame mounting member F. The first tooth T-1 is spaced inwardly from the edge 17 of the pinion 15 which is nearest to the vertical frame member 14. The pinion 15 has a root radius 18, which is smaller than the distance d, and an addendum radius 19. The difference between these radii represents the length 20 of each tooth T. The tooth length 20 is substantially the same as or slightly greater than the thickness of the front flange 5. As shown in the drawings, the fourth or end tooth T-4 has a curved outer portion extending into the securing flange 8, which tooth T-4 is received in the large space 8-4 of the front flange S when the door is fully opened (FIG. 4) to a position from its closed position. In the door closed position, the teeth T on the curved surface of the pinion 15 extend generally toward the front of the door.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the door 12 has a front surface 21, a rear surface 11, and a vertical edge 22 adjacent to the vertical frame 14, whether that be a door frame or a cabinet wall. In the closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tooth T-1 fits within the first space 8-1 of the rack 6 and the second tooth T-2 is closely adjacent to the second space S-2. As the door opens, the

tooth T2 enters space S2 and then tooth T-3 enters space S3 (FIG. 3) until the door is in the position shown in FIG. 4 wherein the tooth T4 is in the space S-4. During this movement, the center C of the pinion 15 moves from a position close to the vertical door frame 14 (FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) to a position away from said door frame (FIG. 4), this distance being more than the thickness of the door 12, so that as the door 12 is opened, its front front surface 21 moves away from the vertical door frame 14 to provide the necessary opening clearance. If desired, the parts may be dimensioned so that the front surface 21 of the door 14 is either closer to the vertical door frame 14 or spaced therefrom at any desired distance within limits when the door is opened 90".

In a typical hinge H for cabinet doors, the door mounting member D may be 2 wide, 1 high, with the pinion 15 having a root radius 18 or /2" and may be made from metal /1 thick. The gear plate F may be 1 /2 long, wide, with the distance d being and may be made from metal A thick. The spaces S are approximately /s" wide except for the end or fourth space S-4 which is 7 wide. The tooth length is about Such a relatively flat hinge H is easy to apply and is substantially hidden from view (FIG. 1). No cut'out portion is required on the door 12, since the securing flange 8 will be secured by screws 10 to the rear surface 11 of the door with the bottom surface of the pinion 15 resting on the top surface 16 of the door 12. The gear plate F may be secured to the frame 7 by means of screws 3 or other suitable means. Thus, the complete vertical height of the hinge H is only the thickness of the pinion 15 with the necessary clearance between the parts to permit the pinion 15 to slide with respect to the inner surface of the gear plate F. The gear plate F is preferably mounted within a recess or cut-out in the frame member 7, but may be mounted directly to the lower surface of the frame member 7 if so desired. Only the top hinge H has been shown in the drawings, but the identical hinge may be used at the bottom of the door with the gear plate F facing upwardly and the pinion 15 on the door mounting member D being on the bottom of the door 12. On the door bottom, the gear plate F is preferably not mounted within a recess. The present hinge H has been found to be satisfactory for doors having thicknesses of up to about 1% inches.

The invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hinge for substantially hidden use in pivoting a door, said hinge comprising a relatively flat gear plate having a portion secured to the top horizontal portion of the frame in which the door is mounted, said gear plate having a continuous rear flange and a front flange having downwardly extending lugs with spaces therebetween, said hinge having a door mounting member comprising a securing flange adapted to be mounted on a vertical portion of a door with a flat pinion mounted at the top thereof in flat contacting relation with the top of said door, said pinion being substantially in the form of a quadrant of a circle having a center and having spaced teeth thereon along its curved surface, the root radius of said pinion being less than the distance between said flanges on said gear plate, said teeth on said pinion being adapted to enter the spaces between said lugs on said gear plate as said door is pivoted to an open position, thereby causing the corner of the door adjacent to the vertical portion of the door frame to move away from said vertical portion of said door frame as said door is opened and causing the center of the pinion to move away from the vertical portion of the door frame a distance greater than the thickness of the door when the door is fully opened.

2. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein said pinion has an end tooth adjacent to the securing flange which is wider than the other teeth on said pinion and which is adapted to be received in a cooperating wide space in the front flange of the gear plate to provide added strength for the hinge when the door is opened 3. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein the entire pinion is in flat contacting relation with the top surface of the door and no portion thereof extends beyond the edge of the top surface of said door.

4. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein the pinion of said door mounting member is positioned between the front flange and the rear flange of said gear plate and remains between said flanges when the door is in open, partially open, or closed position.

5. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein the length of each tooth is slightly greater than the thickness of the front flange of the gear plate.

6. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein each tooth of the plurality of teeth on the pinion successively enters a cooperating space in the front flange of the gear plate as the door is opened, and is withdrawn from its space after a subsequent tooth has entered its cooperating space.

7. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein the first tooth on said pinion is spaced inwardly from the edge thereof and extends into the first space in said gear plate when said door is closed.

8. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one tooth on said pinion is within a space in said gear plate at all times.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 993,227 5/1911 DeRose 16179 2,078,815 4/1937 Segar 16l68 2,720,677 10/1955 Evans 16179 2,959,808 11/1960 Limberg 16-179 159,682 2/1875 Kauffman 16-179 2,975,013 3/1961 Wallace et a1. 16179 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner, 

